Mutation leads to new and severe form of bacterial disease
Friday, December 18, 2009 - 15:35
in Health & Medicine
(PhysOrg.com) -- Everybody gets sick, but how sick you get is in your genes. New research now reveals a mutation on a gene that makes children susceptible to a severe form of mycobacterial disease. The work not only supports a controversial idea that certain genes evolved to combat specific bacteria but also reveals new mechanistic details of how the immune system fights off one of the planet`s fiercest pathogens.